Estonian Public Broadcasting (Eesti Rahvusringhääling or ERR) has begun installing a further three Solid State Logic System T S300 digital audio broadcast consoles, joining three SSL System T S500 consoles previously installed during an upgrade from analogue to digital operation in several studios at the broadcaster’s headquarters in Tallinn.
‘Two-and-a-half years ago, we took a big step in upgrading our audio production equipment, replacing the old analogue audio consoles in our three major TV studios with digital IP solutions – SSL System T S500 platforms,’ says Sander Üksküla, R&D Manager TV Production Technology. ‘The systems operate in a common closed network and are interfaced via a Madi bridge to our MCR. The transition from analogue to digital was smooth, and we are very satisfied with the system’s reliability, safety, backup and the usability of all resources in a common network.
‘Last year, we decided to expand the solution and purchased three S300 consoles.’
ERR was formed in 2007 through the consolidation of Estonian Television (Eesti Televisioon) and Estonian Radio (Eesti Raadio), and delivers three national TV channels and five national radio channels over the air as well as via cable, satellite and online.
The two smaller System T S300 surfaces, with 16+1 faders, have been installed in commentary studios following the completion of renovations at the facility. The third S300, a larger surface configured with 32+1 faders, will be installed when there is a break in the production schedule in a studio that is typically in everyday use.
The S500 consoles are powered by SSL T80 Tempest Engines and integrated alongside SSL Network I/O A32 analogue-to-Dante and SSL HC Bridge network bridging and conversion interfaces. ERR also uses several mixed-format Network I/O A16.D16 interfaces, and SB 32:24, SB i16 and SB 8:8 Stageboxes on the Dante network.
‘The convenient and functional features of the Dante network, such as automatic network configuration and automatic discovery, and the network architecture of the systems made it possible to introduce the cross-use of studio pavilions and audio control rooms and to back up the audio control rooms, if necessary,’ Üksküla reports.
Recently, one of the S500 consoles was integrated with a Ross Video OverDrive automation system in a studio dedicated to ERR’s Morning Show. The other two S500s are installed in multipurpose production studios that are used for a variety of programming.
Tonu Presjarv, MD of ProMedia, SSL’s distributor for Estonia, reports that his firm successfully won the tender for the initial three studios at ERR, the country’s largest broadcaster. ‘ERR wanted to go IP, they issued an EU tender – because ERR is a public broadcaster – and SSL won. Our proposal included the networking and resource sharing of all three TV studios,’ he says. ‘The latest ERR tender we won was also for System T. We supplied three S300s this time.’
More: www.solidstatelogic.com
